Faith
by Shadowed Treasure
Summary: Donatello is a man of science. He always has been. But he can be a little closed minded at times when it comes to other people and their point of view. It takes a conversation with a very unusual mutant to change that.


One shot set in the same timeline as my other story. I really wanted to explore the idea of religion using the turtles and I just felt like Don would be the turtle with the strongest opinion on it. I put Mona on the other side because she used to be human and in my stories she has an Italian heritage so she's had a lot more experience with religion. if you don't know who mona is read my other story (But don't judge me for it's quality I was young when I wrote it).If you're religiously sensitive then don't read, just to be on the safe side. It's mainly just about Christianity though.

…

It wasn't exactly what you would call a quiet night in the lair, but then again it never was. There was always something making some kind of noise, whether it was Donnie's machines or Mikey's shenanigans or Raph's… general temperament. They were used to a little noise; it was what made their lair home. Lately it had been different though, the regular sounds of hustle and bustle in the lair had turned into a cacophony of chaos.

They're new neighbour Mona Lisa seemed to be at the centre of all this trouble. Since she had moved into the sewer next door Mona spent most of her days with the turtles. Unfortunately, Mona had the habit of inadvertently ticking Raph off (Who didn't?). Not one to back away from an argument, Mona would always yell back which, would always end in a full blown fight. It wasn't like they didn't get along; after Donnie, Raphael was the turtle she spent most of her time with. But their personalities were too similar and they always ended up butting heads, much to the annoyance of everyone else.

"They're fighting again." Mikey said as Leonardo walked into the kitchen.

"They never really stop." He replied, putting the kettle on.

Mikey sat at the table eating a bag of pork rinds. "Must be tough having two alpha dogs in one relationship huh?"

"They're not in a relationship, Mikey." Leon informed him as he went through the cupboards searching for a clean teacup.

"Says you." He scoffed. "Besides, I don't mean a _relationship_ relationship; I mean any kind of relationship. You and Raph but heads all the time, that's because you're both alphas."

Leo gave his younger brother a look of approval. "That's pretty profound, Mikey."

"I've been watching the discovery channel." He explained with a mouth full of pork rinds. "Either one of them will be exiled, or they'll have a fight to the death over dominance."

"I highly doubt that's going to happen."

Mikey shrugged and continued eating his pork rinds. "What do you think it's about this time?"

"Not sure." Leo said, as the kettle started whistling. He held out an empty cup to his brother. "Tea?"

Mike shook his head.

"You think Mona said wrestling was homoerotic again?" Mike asked with a laugh. "You remember last time? Raph went so red you couldn't tell his mask apart from his face."

"I really couldn't say." Leo sat down with his tea.

There was a loud CRASH BANG from the other room, followed by the sounds of frantic shuffling as the yelling got louder.

"Mona's throwing things again." Mikey noted casually.

"Must be Raph's fault." Leo agreed.

"What do you think happened?" the orange-clad turtle wondered. "Do you think he told her that her hips were wide again?"

Leo shook his head. "My money's on accidental sexism."

"10 bucks?" Mikey offered his hand.

Leo took his hand, deciding to indulge his brother with a rare moment of frivolity. "You're on."

"That's it, I'm leaving! Call me when you decide to be a little more open minded!" Mona Lisa's voice echoed through the lair.

"Be reasonable, Mona. Facts are facts!" A voice called after her.

The older turtle smiled smugly. "Sexism it is."

"I'll go get my money." Mikey said begrudgingly, heaving himself up from the table.

"Hey guys." Raph waved as he walked into the kitchen.

"Hey Raph." Mikey replied glumly. As he listened to the pair of voices outside bicker a sudden realisation hit him. "Wait, Raph? What are you doing in the kitchen? You're fighting with Mona."

"No I ain't. I'm in the kitchen." He stated obviously.

"Well, if you're in here who's Mona arguing with?"

"Who do ya think, Leo?" Raph caught sight of the abandoned bag on the table. "Hey, pork rinds."

"So, if we're all here that means Mona's arguing with… Donnie." Mikeys eyes widened with fear. "Donnie can't argue with Mona. His heart isn't made of stone like yours is, she'll crush his soul!"

"Thanks Mikey."

Mikey ran out of the kitchen with Leonardo close behind. Raphael begrudgingly followed after them after realising he was left alone in the kitchen, pork rinds in hand.

"Mona, c'mon don't be like this." Donnie begged as she put her coat on. The three other brothers stopped a comfortable distance away to watch the spectacle. "You're behaving like…"

"Like what, Don?" She snapped. "Like a child? Is that what you were going to say? Mona Lisa is nothing but a stupid little child."

"I didn't mean it like that..."

"Whatever, I'm going." She turned to face the other three. "Bye guys."

Mona stormed out and they all stood there silently, unsure of what to say.

"Wow." Mikey was the first to speak.

"What?" Their usually level-headed brother snapped.

"Nothing, it's just… well, you and Mona usually get along really well and now…" He looked around sheepishly. "Well now it looks like you ticked her off more than Raph usually does."

"Again, thanks Mikey." Raph repeated sarcastically.

"She did seem pretty mad. What did you do?" asked Leo.

"Nothing!" Donatello raised his voice. "Why do you think it was my fault? I'm not the one who just stormed out!"

"Donatello." Splinter called from the door of the dojo. The sound of their master's voice caused them all to go into student mode, lining up straight as they turned to face him. "We must talk. Come with me."

Yes sensei." Don bowed before trailing after Splinter.

Michelangelo burst into a fit of giggles as he left. "Hehehe…He's gonna get it now."

…

"Donatello, kneel." The elderly rat said, gesturing at the mat before him. His son did as he was told and kneeled down at his master's feet. "Donatello, I would like you to explain to me what happened today."

"Nothing sensei." He said quickly. "Mona and I just had a bit of a disagreement is all."

"A disagreement?"

"Yes, sensei."

"It was more than just a simple disagreement, my son. I could hear the two of you from here."

"I think all of New York could hear us." Don mumbled.

"My son, what happened?"

"We just… we had a fight."

Splinter looked concerned. "You are not one to fight with Miss Gherardini. You are not one to fight at all. May I ask what it was Mona Lisa did to upset you this way?"

"She didn't really _do_ anything." He sighed. "We were in my lab, working on some update for the shell cell and we somehow got onto the topic of, you know, Alexander Graham Bell, and that led to Thomas Edison, and that somehow led to Isaac newton and I just wondered… how Newton could be such a devout Christian yet had done so much scientific work. Well, that kind of led to whole religion versus science thing and then… then Mona told me she believed in God."

"Does it upset you that Mona has spiritual beliefs?"

"No, of course not!" He said quickly. "You have spiritual beliefs, sensei, and I don't have anything against that. It's just that… well, it confused me. Mona's a scientist. Science and religion just don't go together. She's an educated woman."

"And because she is educated she shouldn't believe in such things."

"Exactly! I asked her why and she didn't have an answer, and so we got into a little argument and then I kind of told her that believing in God was… well, stupid."

"You think those who believe in a God are stupid?"

"Well, I wouldn't say it like that…."

"Tell me, Donatello, I have spiritual beliefs, do you think I'm stupid?"

"Of course not, sensei. But your beliefs don't involve all-powerful deities floating in space." He explained, waving his arms about to emphasise the ridiculousness of the idea.

Splinter sighed. "My son, I fear you are being too closed-minded on this subject."

"Sensei, you're not telling me I have to believe in a god just because my friend does?" Donatello looked fearful.

"I would never tell you what to believe, my son. You do not have to share my beliefs, or anyone else's, if you do not wish to." He explained. "But, I do expect you to _respect_ the beliefs of others, even if they may not be your own."

Donatello sat silently for a moment, contemplating his master's words. "Please don't ask me to apologise to her." He said softly.

"Why not?"

He bowed his head. "Because I don't think I'm wrong."

Splinter put a hand on his son's shoulder. "I will not ask you to apologise, but I will ask you to talk to her. And to listen. She is a friend, one of the few friends this family has, and it is up to you to make amends with her."

…

Mona sat on the roof of her old apartment building staring up at the sky, her legs dangling over the edge. A cold wind whooshed past and Mona turned her coat collar up and hugged her jacket tighter. She had been there for hours, lost in her own thoughts. She was barely paying attention when she heard the faintest sound of footsteps on concrete. She didn't need to turn around to know who it was.

"I know you're there, Don."

Don stepped out of the shadows. "You're getting better at that."

"What do you want Donatello?" That wasn't a good sign. Mona only ever called them by their whole name when she was angry or depressed. Don had a feeling that right now she was both.

"I just want to talk."

"You've done enough of that." She remarked. "How'd you find me anyway?"

"Raph told me, he said you come here when you're sad."

"I'm not sad." She pouted childishly.

"Well, I know you're mad" He came over and sat down next to her. "You're mad at me."

"Of course I'm mad at you." She scoffed. "You called me stupid."

"No I didn't... I called your beliefs… stupid." He trailed off as he realised that wasn't any better.

"It's the same thing. My beliefs are part of who I am; if you don't like that then you don't like me." Donnie could hear the pain in her voice as she spoke.

"Mona, you're my best friend, I love you. I just don't understand why someone as smart as you could in believe something so… ridiculous."

"Oh, so now I'm ridiculous!" She exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. She stood up and moved away from Donatello. "You know, you think you're _so_ right all the time. And that's ok because usually you are. But you're just so used to it that you don't even _listen_ to anyone else's opinion."

"Look, I'm sorry I offended you but I'm not sorry for what I said. I don't believe in religion, I think it's stupid."

"You're allowed to think that, Donnie. But just because you think religion is stupid doesn't mean you're allowed to think _I'm_ stupid."

"I just… don't get it. Scientifically, it's not possible. There's not a single scientific theory anywhere that proves there might be a God. Just some random guy living in the sky? it doesn't make sense." Donatello tried to explain. "And it's not just that. I've been through a lot, Mona. I've seen a lot of bad things happen to good people. What's happened to me and my family and my friends, I just find it hard to believe that there's a God out there. If there was this almighty all-seeing being out there protecting us from evil, I just don't understand why he would let so much bad stuff happen to me and everyone I care about. I guess that's why I can't grasp why you believe, look at everything that's happened to you. How can you go through all that and still believe there's some magical being out there protecting you."

"Because I want to." Her voice was small and she wasn't looking at him, but Donatello could see the tears welling in her eyes. "It's what keeps me going sometimes. In my darkest moments I like knowing that there is someone out there who cares about me. Even If I can't see him. Even if he doesn't intervene. He's still out there and he still cares."

"Then why doesn't he stop it?"

"I don't know." She answered honestly. "I choose to believe he doesn't intervene because he doesn't want to take a way a person's free will, even if they're using that freedom wrong. He doesn't stop them from doing what they want; he gives the victim the strength to make it through and to heal. I choose to believe that God was watching over me all through my mutation. I choose to believe that he gave me the strength to make it through because I was meant to do more with my life. I choose to believe he watches over me. Because if I didn't I probably would have given up by now."

"But… there's just no proof." He argued. "How can you have faith in something there's zero evidence of?"

"Faith doesn't need proof, Donnie. It's believing _without_ proof, that's why it's called faith and not fact."

Donnie nodded in partial understanding. "Then what about the bible? Do you believe everything that says?"

"Of course not, Donnie." She said with a small smile. "I believe in the morals it teaches but I don't believe it's true, not all of it. And it's old; a lot of stuff it says just isn't relevant today."

Don couldn't help but let out a sigh, glad to hear his friend was not secretly a hard-core creationist. "I'm sorry I hurt your feelings, Mona."

"That's ok." She smiled.

"But I'm not sorry I said it."

"I know."

"I guess I just have a hard time trusting anything that isn't 100% fact. You believe in God, I believe in science."

"I believe in God _and_ Science." She corrected.

He laughed. "I think I got that now." He joined her by the edge of the roof and they stared up at the sky together. Donatello began to understand what his master meant by listening to Mona Lisa. He still didn't completely understand why, but he felt less angry with the idea of his best friend being a little religious. It didn't change anything. Mona was still Mona. "I still don't believe in God, though."

He wanted to make it clear that he hadn't suddenly seen the light, given up science and decided to become a preacher to mutantkind. He still thought religion was ridiculous, but he realised that didn't mean the people who believed it were.

"That's ok." She replied.

Donatello watched the clouds roll by, occasionally covering up the beauty of the full moon. The stars twinkled and the night was silent. "You really believe there's something out there?"

"Why not?"

"Because there's no proof there is."

She shrugged. "There's no proof there's not."

…

What do you think? I'm sorry if that was somehow offensive to someone. Mona comes off a little too religious in this. She's meant to be more liberal about stuff, I tried to get that across but I'm not sure if I did. Her views on religion are partially based on mine, I'll admit that. I also wanted to really emphasise that Donnie kept his opinion on religion; he just learned to be accepting of other peoples beliefs. If that didn't come across well I'm telling you now. I'd really like to know what y'all think; if it sucks hard I'll do some serious editing. Thanks for reading.

Xx


End file.
